"First Daughter"
is a perfect example of how Hollywood locations are often not what they
seem.

The movie appears to have been filmed in Washington D.C. and at the University
of Redmond.
It wasn't. In fact, there is no Redmond, California. "First
Daughter" was filmed exclusively
in Southern California, at two key locales: in the Old Town section of
Orange, California
(just east of Disneyland) and on the UCLA campus in Westwood Village.
Those two spots are a good 45 miles apart, but the film merges the two
locales
seamlessly, to make it appear as if all of the scenes are in the same town.

But the film opens in another spot altogether. We see the President's daughter,
'Samantha Mackenzie' (Katie Holmes) making an entrance down a grand
stairway.
That scene was composed of two very different locations, quite far apart.

The exterior was actually the former
mansion of tycoon Henry Huntington, at theHuntington Library, Art Collection & Gardens,
located at 1151 Oxford Road,in San Marino (near Pasadena, CA)

.

But the interior (with the grand staircase) was
actually shot in downtown L.A.,
inside the lavish lobby of the old "Los Angeles
Theatre" located at 615 S. Broadway.
Unfortunately, the theatre is closed most of the year. It's open only for
the annual
"Last
Remaining Seats" festival and for filming of movies like this.

(Now
here's an extra twist. This same theatre was used for another shot in the
film... but more about that later.)

When we see the First Family drive into the college town
(what is supposed to be the University of Redmond), that scene
of the Presidential motorcade being greeted by
flag-waving people lining the streets was actually shot in Old
Town Orange, CA, onW. Chapman Ave.

The motorcade was
heading east on Chapman Ave,
then it curved left (north) into the Orange traffic
circle.

The very next scene jumps 45 miles away,
to a shot of Powell Library on theUCLA campus in Westwood. This is supposed
to be Redmond University.

(The
irony is that there really is a college campus, Chapman
College, just a block north
of the Orange traffic circle, on Glassell. Yet they chose to go 45 miles
away to
film the college scenes. That's Hollywood for you...)

When 'Samantha' arrives at her dorm, "Woody
House", they are actually walking into Kerckhoff Hall at UCLA,
which is next door to the popular Ackerman Union center.
In reality, Kerckhoff Hallhouses
the student newspaper ("The Daily Bruin"), the student
employment office, a coffee house, arcade and assorted student lounges.

(The interesting architecture of Kerckhoff
Hall was
inspired by that of a chapel built by King Henry VII.)

More First Daughter
Locations!(Just click the arrow)

Some of the photos on this
page are stills from the DVD of "First Daughter"
(which you can buy by clicking
here) and are copyright 20th Century Fox .